


Whisper in my ear and teach me how to dance

by Sooniverse



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Deaf Character, Hiding Medical Issues, I'll add more as I go because I'm still clueless of how tagging works here, M/M, Major Illness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24608755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sooniverse/pseuds/Sooniverse
Summary: Living in a world of silence, Kyungsoo craves for music in his life.Jongin's world is music and dancing, but what happens when your body starts to betray you?
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Do Kyungsoo | D.O & Kim Jongin | Kai, Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Kim Jongin | Kai
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Kyungsoo I

**Author's Note:**

> I've posted this on AFF as well...
> 
> Disability depictions are done with my outmost respect.  
> I'm fully aware that any form of Sign Language does not translate literally to written/spoken language, but I wrote it this way to make it easier.  
> I have close relationships with members of the Deaf/deaf community, but I'm aware of the fact that everyone is different and if there is something that comes as controversial or offensive, PLEASE let me know, and know that it's never my intention.
> 
> Also, English is not my native language so any mistakes feel free to point them out

The morning of my 20th birthday is not exactly the best time to have to start at a brand new university. I didn’t wanted to change schools, not when I already had 4 semesters in it, with all my childhood friends, but that school didn’t have the full program I was looking for.  
See, I’m an English student, and the major I was originally changed in the middle of my 3rd semester, the syllabus and all that stuff so I clearly I couldn’t keep going there if I wanted to actually get my major.  
There’s also the fact that at this new university you’re allowed to take optatives that have little to do with your actual major, and it’s also an Arts focused University, so it had everything from English to creative writing to acting to dancing and other stuff I wasn’t that aware of because I wasn’t really interested in, the dancing was what caught my attention.  
I’ve always wanted to pursuit dancing, not in a competitive way or anything like that, just as a hobby and form on entertainment, but my family were skeptical about it, maybe it was the fact that no one in my family could play any instruments and from what they’ve told me, they’re all helpless when it comes to rhythm or anything regarding musicality, or maybe it was also for the fact that I’m deaf, and I’ve been for the past 12 years of my life, and everyone has always assumed that music and deafness suppress each other, the truth is, I believe you enjoy it more than hearing people.  
Before I became deaf, I had been in violin and guitar, and I was kinda good at it, but as soon as I lost my hearing, that was lost for me, not a decision made by me, but by my mother whom trying to protect me from the fact that I could no longer hear what I was playing, she thought that would make me suffer. How wrong she was. I’ve been longing for music my whole life. I still “hear” it in a way, and I love and enjoy it immensely, but nothing compares with the feeling you get from taking direct action with it, either by playing and instrument or dancing, something I had done behind my mom’s back for a while.  
So against my mom wanting me to stay at my hometown, and with my dad supporting every decision I took regarding my education or really anything new I wanted to try, except for music, cause he knew how much that upsetter my mom, I left home.  
Four days before the winter semester started I packed everything and loaded to the car.  
‘Are you sure you don’t want us to drive you?’ my dad signed to me while I walked to the front porch to say my final goodbyes.  
I simply nodded as an answer. I knew he wasn’t asking because he was worried, he had always trusted me, it was for my mom’s sake, whom at this point, couldn’t even bear to look at me, she was leaning against my dad and I could tell she was trying to hold her tears.  
I tapped her shoulder.  
‘I’ll be fine’ I signed, which I shouldn’t have done because her tears started to actually come out, I could almost hear her cries. ‘I’ll come on the very first weekend I have, I promise, It’s only a 3 hour long drive’ That seemed to calm her a little. She hugged me and I’m pretty sure she said something, cause I could feel her chest vibrating, I just figured it was that or that she had started to cry out loud again.  
I saw my brother come out of the house, with his wife next to him, both of them just giving me the “that’s mom” look we had, while my mom let go of me. I waved my last goodbye to them all and went to the car.  
Just as the GPS said, barely 3 hours and some minutes was what it took me to get there, it was only around 2 pm and I hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast that morning, so I pulled over to what seemed to be a burger place I saw at the entrance of the city.  
Ordering food was not that much of a hassle, back at home was not a problem at all, it was a small town and I knew everyone since I could remember so I simply pointed at what I wanted and the rest was some sort of combination between mind reading and rough signs that looked kind of what I wanted to order, everyone was really nice, or when I went with any of my brothers or close friends, I just signed to them and I got whatever I wanted. And now that I give this a proper thought, I think it was a good choice moving from home, it would give me a “real world” experience as to what I should expect from some place other that my hometown.  
I stared at the menu, not right in front of the cashier, since that usually meant being asked right away what I wanted and I needed some time to decide and also write my order in my phone.  
I approached the counter and just showed my phone to the cashier, without giving him a proper look, I just remember his tan skin, fluffy hair and a warm smile that made me stare a bit ta him more than I actually wanted. He asked me something, tho I couldn’t catch what it was since I was too distracted to read lips and too much into myself that day to try those type of forced social interactions with people whom I might never see again, so I just said “nothing”, just to a second later, take my hand to my mouth to cover it. I usually didn’t do this, the only people whom I ventured to actually speak was my family and me best friends, but not just out of the blue like I just did.  
“Are you ok?”  
I only nodded as an answer and went to the back of the dinner to have my food. I ate mindlessly, just chewing the food, and thinking about god knows what, I only wanted to get my stomach full. I think I was getting nervous to arrive at the school. I had to go directly to the from offices to get the keys to my dorm room, the pamphlet about the rules and all that stuff. I’d never shared room with anyone else that wasn’t Donghae, and yes, I had to admit I was nervous to see who was going to be my new roommate.  
I arrived and parked right in front of the building that had the offices in it and it took me probably a good 20 minutes to get down from the car, my sweaty palms holding to the steering wheel for I slapped myself in the face, so to speak, held myself together and walked to the building, inside it, was this super tall guy, with huge and pity ears sticking out of his black baseball cap, leaning against the counter and chatting with the secretary, which looked like she was enjoying herself, I approached the counter already grabbing my phone and opening my notes app where I had all already written in.  
“Hi, I’m Do Kyungsoo, I’m starting next Monday here, English major, and I was told to come to the front desk for the keys to my dorm room” Among responses to all the things I imagined I could probably get asked while trying to register myself in.  
As soon as I arrived to the front desk, I showed my phone to the secretary, who gave me a quizzical look and then turned to talk to the tall guy next to me “…believe…roommate” was all I could grasp while trying to read her lips.  
I turned to look at the tall guy who was now looking me with eyes wide open and with a smile as wide that it could easily go from ear to ear.  
‘You’re finally here’ he signed, not entirely fluently but definitely someone who has been practicing for a few years now, not an amateur. ‘I was beginning to wonder if you were showing up at all’  
‘Are you my roommate?’ I could sign past my first surprise of meeting someone whom I could maintain a fluid conversation without having to resort to the old “never mind”, and of course, not getting a “never mind” in return while also trying to make myself understood.  
‘I sure am, my name is C-H-A-N-Y-E-O-L by the way’ he signed at the same time as he spoke, spelling each letter carefully, and then making the “piano” sign but with a the letters “c” and “y” ‘let’s go, I’ll help you get settled’  
I couldn’t help but open my eyes a little wide while he did that. It was a little bit of a surprise to see him had a sign name, since most of the times, a deaf person was the one who had to give it to you. But I didn’t mentioned it, I thought it would be weird to pry on something that might be personal.  
We went into my car, the dorms weren’t far, but I wanted to have my car parked at the dorms parking lot, not on a random place at the university.  
Once in the dorm room he started to explain the rules and such.  
‘We’re allowed to bring girls into the dorm, just not past 8 p.m.’ he said rolling his eyes and laughing a bit after ‘aaaah this people, but guys are allowed, and I’m gay so I’m fine with it’ he chuckled while saying this ‘but don’t worry, I have a boyfriend so I won’t try hitting on you, we’re pretty steady, we’ve been together for almost 4 years’  
‘Cool’ was all I managed to say. Not that I cared if he was or wasn’t gay.  
‘Mmm, other than that, just music is off limits after 10 pm, loud music at least, so sorry bro, what else, what else? deep cleaning is managed by the staff but we still need to keep decent this place, so we can turn each other to clean or do it together, whatever you prefer, as for rules, I think that’s it’ he nodded proudly to himself, while grabbing a water bottle from the little fridge we had next to door, ’Ah, I almost forgot. The tech staff will come to install all the stuff you need, the light alarm and all that… Ya! why are you staring at me like that? do I have something in my face?’  
I didn’t realize I was doing that ‘I’m sorry’ I answered back. ‘It’s just, how are you so Deaf/deaf aware? And how do you know sign language so well? Not to mention that you have a sign name. Is someone in your family deaf? Jesus, I’m rambling now, I’ll stop, I’m sorry’ I asked while feeling my cheeks flush out of embarrassment. I knew maybe he wasn’t part of a deaf family, since family members of a deaf person were mostly fluent, at the same extent as the deaf person, or at least my family was, and as I mentioned earlier, he wasn’t fluent but also wasn’t struggling to use sign language.  
‘Ah, my boyfriend, remember I mentioned him? He’s deaf’ that made a lot of sense ‘We’ve been together for a while and before that we had already been friends since high school, so I’ve been having practice on a daily basis for almost 5 years now, I’ll introduce you guys tomorrow if you want’ again nodding proudly to himself.  
‘Sure, that would be great’  
At least I was going to properly communicate with another two people in this university. That didn’t seem bad at all.


	2. Kyungsoo II

We spent the next morning just talking casually, and I found myself having a good time with Chanyeol, much more than what I expected, imagining I would spent at least the first several weeks alone trying to make myself understood after outside classes without my interpreter.

You see, not everyone is willing to put the effort into trying to communicate with someone who uses a different method of communication, I’ve seen it before, it was my every day life.

The first day at my last university, even when I had several of my classes with my best friend, he was still on holiday when classes started, and even when I knew a lot of people and most of them knew kinda some basic signs, they never made much of an effort, the usual response when I asked what they were talking about was a “never mind” or “it’s nothing”, something along those lines.

While I was finally unpacking and sorting everything back into the closet, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

‘Kyungsoo-ya, I forgot to tell you but my boyfriend is coming in a bit, is that okay?’ I could tell he looked nervous.

‘Sure, no problem’ I signed back.

A few minutes later I felt another tap at my shoulder, expecting it to be Chanyeol, I turned around do find an unfamiliar face looking back at me.

‘Hey’ he signed, he must be Chanyeol’s boyfriend. He had a cute face, I’m not sure I would call him handsome, but definitely cute, not my type of cute tho, to be honest, ‘My name is B-A-E-K-H-Y-U-N’ he signed letter by letter, to make afterwards a letter “b” sign while the bottom of his jaw: his sign name.

‘Oh, hey! My name is K-Y-U-N G-S-O-O” and did afterwards the sign for “penguin” (without the wiggling part of course) but while making the letter “s” with my hands. And I felt my face flush. It had been one of my best friends back at home who had given that name to me, back at the community center where I learned sign language back when I was 8. It was a bit embarrassing at times, but everyone said I reminded them of a penguin, and she took advantage of it and gave me that name, and at the time, I don’t know how to refuse to it, so it just stuck, to my embarrassment.

I could see Baekhyun chuckle a bit. ‘Penguin?’ he signed smiling at the same time

I just rolled my eyes a bit and nodded ‘Long story’ 

‘Never mind, are you hungry? We were just about to go have some lunch, it’s almost 2 pm you know?’

I just nodded and offered them a ride, Chanyeol had his own car, so instead he insisted we went in his, with him driving and Baekhyun and I just getting to know each other better a little bit more, we spent the whole 15 minute drive talking to each other.

Turns out he was also an English major, and Chanyeol was majoring in classical music, I would have never imagined, seeing how goofy he sometimes behaved, specially around Baekhyun, but I guess you could say the same for me, with dancing and my enjoyment of music, maybe. They were both starting 5th semester, tho Baekhyun was a bit older than us, saying he had taken a gap year before starting university to travel a bit and rest, since high school had beed some what difficult for him.

Without realizing we arrived at the place where we were having lunch. Coincidentally the same place where I had come yesterday when I arrived. It seemed to be a popular place.

‘This place serves some amazing burgers and burritos, you’re gonna love it’ Chanyeol signed with a bright smile on his face.

‘Oh, I actually came here yesterday, I was hungry and I chose a random place to eat, it was really good’ I lied a bit at the end, since yesterday I was so self absorbed into my own thoughts that I hadn’t really tasted the food.

‘Then you must already know Jongin-ah’ Baekhyun signed ‘He works here, he’s one of Chanyeol’s best friends’

‘Ah, I don't really remember, I’m sorry, I wasn’t really paying any attention yesterday when I came”

‘It’s fine, I’ll introduce you guys’ Baekhyun signed while smiling. Yup, he was cute.

We walked in, and I saw that the same cashier as yesterday in the frond desk, was this the guy they were talking about? I wondered to myself, not to long, when I saw Baekhyun approach the guy from behind the counter to give him a back hug, seeing this cashier-friend-of-Chanyeol-anaekhyun chuckle, and giving an eye smile that warmed me up inside, I flinched a bit at the unusual feeling and brushed it away taking a deep breath.

“Baekhyun hyung!” the guy said.

‘We’re only here because the food is awesome, nothing to do with you working here’ Chanyeol signed at the same time he spoke.

“Yeah right” I could read his lips.

‘Ah, this is our new friend Kyungsoo, he is Chanyeol’s new roommate’ Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol while waiting for him to translate.

“Oh hey, you came here yesterday right?” What was it about him that his lips were so easy to read? That had never happened to me before. 

“Yeah I did” I answered again, out loud. Why was I speaking again? So out of nowhere.

“Yaaaaaah! You speak?!” Chanyeol said and signed at the same time, looking surprised.

‘Not really’ was all I could answer while feeling Jongin’s stare on me.

‘Are you deaf?’ this cashier-friend-of-Chanyeol-and-Baekhyun signed, “Ah, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude” which might come as rude to some people, but the way he asked it kinda apologetically made it cute instead, he finished speaking. ‘I’m J-O-N-G-I-N’ he switched back to sign language and did a signed that resembled a lot to “dance”, and I wondered if he was actually a dancer, that would make a lot of sense for that to be his sign name. And I also have to admit that if that were true, we would have something in common. 

_ Why was I thinking about having something in common with a complete stranger? _

‘I came here yesterday, if I had known you knew sign language ordering would have been a bit more easy’ I singed while laughing, but I just saw his face contort into a frown, and both his mouth and face starting to form the word “what…?”

Chanyeol quickly translated for me to translate later for Jingin’s words.

‘I actually know a bit, since being friends with them’ Chanyeol pointed at himself and Baekhyun ‘but I really don’t know that much, just basic signs and my name of course, I’m sorry’

I looked back an Jongin, he was flushing slightly and looking at me with an apologetical look.

“It’s fine” again with the spoken words, what the F was going on with me?! ‘I am deaf, and it’s cool that you know sign language, even if it’s the basic stuff, not all the people take the time’

And while Chanyeol translated I could see Jongin relax a bit.

We sat to eat lunch, and even when I was also in my own world thinking too much to myself and of this new guy I had just met and somehow felt this instant “trust” feeling (I’m not entirely sure of how else to describe it) I actually enjoyed the food a lot this time around, it was really a good place to eat, I also interacted a bit with Baekhyun and Chanyeol and we got to know each other better, with Jongin casually coming every now and then to refill our lemonades, always leaving and staying a bit longer than expected next to our table, as if he was trying to say something but backed out at the last moment.

We finished our meal and Baekhyun and Chanyeol talked a bit with Jongin while I was on the phone talking do Donghae, who had just texted me.

D: Are you already set up?

K: Yeah, things were really easy, my roommate is almost fluent as we are, his boyfriend is also deaf, so that’s cool

D: … You were worried about that right?

K: Mmm, not really

D: I know you pretty well, I know that was one of the things that worried you the most Kyungsoo-ya. You’ve always been so easy to read, at least for me

K: Am I?

I was worried, of course I was, but I had never wanted my family to notice my uneasiness on coming here on my own, to a new city and an new university for the first time in my life, but I guess that’s what life actually is right? I couldn’t always be at my hometown without getting to know the world just because it was more comfortable that way. I was more than certain this had been the right decision to make. While being lost in my own thoughts, I felt a tap at the table.

‘Are you ready to go?’ it was Baekhyun ‘Mind coming with us to do some grocery shopping before it get’s dark?’

‘Sure, I also need to get some stuff I forgot back at home’

We walked to the car, and while Baekhyn was already getting to the it, I saw Chanyeol drag a bit, talking to Jongin at the entrance of the restaurant, the second one with a sort of distress look on his face, and the tallest patting his shoulder a few times, I tried to read Jongin’s lips from afar, but I guess that the distance and the fact that it was already getting dark AND that he seemed to be mumbling (I wondered if he was doing that on purpose for me so I wasn't able to read his lips, but then again, why would he do that, it’s not like they were talking about me, I think at least) I guess I hadn’t noticed how hard I was staring at them until I locked eyes with Jongin, who looked at other place and rushed inside again. 

I felt guilty, like an intruder, it was not my place to pry on other people’s business. I saw Chanyeol get into the car, Baekhyun giving him a worried look and Chanyeol just gave a light sigh as Baekhyun held one of his hands ti rub the back of it gently.

I wondered what was going on.


	3. Jongin I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to update once a week; but one after the other doesn’t seem like a bad idea this time

I was trying to sleep. Just to find myself turning in bed over and over. I looked back to my alarm clock.

3:36 a.m.

I had to wake up in a little over 3 hours for the first day of the new semester, and I hadn’t been able to sleep for a single minute. my head was thinking at a million things at once and the feeling was overwhelming. 

I never thought I would have to give up my major only 5 semesters into university and in my 3rd on dancing, I was expecting to last a bit more, since doctors had told me it was progressing yes, but slower than usual, that somehow, the fact that my body was so used to movement and activity might have made it resist a little more that other people’s, nevertheless, the end was coming, I could definitely feel it, I could already see and feel the changes on my body. And maybe if you knew about it, or if you paid special attention, you could even notice it.

I decided it was better if I just gave up on sleeping. I’m sure that after a huge day of endless activities my body would end tired and the following night I would be able to sleep as a baby. So instead of trying to sleep I got up, got my stuff ready for the day to later take a bath. I felt my muscles cramped, so I decided a bath was way better than a shower, I had time anyways.

I didn’t live at the dorms of uni, I was lucky enough to live still at home, having my dream university just a 5 minute drive or a 20 minute walk from home.

It was barely 5 a.m. when I went downstairs to have breakfast. I made myself a cup of coffee and a bowl of apple-cinnamon oatmeal. It had been my favorite breakfast since I was about 4 years old.

I ate slowly, not really thinking about anything in particular, I wanted to take all my anticipated worries of the day out of my head, there would be time for me to think about them, when the time came. Went back to my bedroom to see if I had everything for school, which at this point only required books and a notebook and that type of stuff, there was no need for my gym bag anymore, no dancing clothes, no dancing shoes, no dancing anything.

And being the obsessive nut I’ve been all my life and realizing I still had plenty of time before I had to go to school, I sat down at my desk to write the day’s schedule:

8 a.m. - Interpretative dancing - theoretical

9:30 a.m. - History of classical dances in Europe II

11 a.m. - English Literature II

I had to change some of my subjects of course, I was still taking dancing lessons, theoretical at least, but I have had to change my major into English, luckily enough, I had taken some English major related subjects at my first semesters, so now, I only had to make for a few subjects, that would require maybe one or two summer semesters to catch up, but I really didn't mind, as I mentioned before, I live close to campus, and those don’t even take the whole summer anyways. 

12:30 - Lunch (tho I wasn’t eating that much lately, I had just made space for my schedule for the sake of it, so instead of eating I would probably only take a walk along campus, or take a walk to the hospital which was about 4 miles away from it)

14:00 - Neurologist appointment

The part that I dreaded the most from my day. Originally I had another class at that hour, and it might seem a bit irresponsible of me to not attend on the first day, but I had a pretty good reason not to go.

I had spoken to my doctor on the phone a few days before, and he told me I might need a new examination, so that’s what what happening on that day. The only thing I didn't want to hear is that it was progressing, but I knew that was the only thing I was going to hear from now on. 

I spent the first two hours of school not thinking much about the appointment and focusing as much as I could, if I wasn’t going to be able to be a dancer, I might be something else, maybe a dance instructor or maybe a dance teacher, a dance therapist (if that even existed), it might be a way to stay in contact with it, it was a possibility.

The class was already finishing and it was barely 10:30 a.m., so I had over 30 minutes to spend however I wanted, so I just roamed through campus for a bit and then sat on a bench a few steps away from the entrance of the classroom to re-read that day’s lecture when I saw a small figure approaching to me. It was Kyungsoo, Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s friend. 

Since the first time I saw him back when he went to eat by his own at the restaurant I wanted to talk to him, to say that I didn’t know why would be a lie, the reason behind it was pretty much because I found him gorgeous. Yeah, I said it. For some reason I was infatuated with someone since the moment I saw him. How much lame can you get? 

He was shorter than me, even shorter than Baekhyun, and he was pretty small himself. He had huge round eyes and wide eyebrows to accompany them, the way he looked at stuff around him was mesmerizing, he seemed to study everything around him with extensive care. I learned the following day, when he went with my friends to have lunch, that he was deaf, and I was happy to at least be able to say my name to him in a way he could easily understand.

Every time I went to their table that day, I meant to talk to him, maybe get his number or something, anything to get me closer to him, I was craving getting to know him, and now that I think about it, I must’ve looked lame AF. 

As he got closer to where I was seating, and adding that I was thinking about the fact that I liked him, made me blush, and just at the exact same moment when he acknowledged that I was there. I quickly turned my face trying to hide it, praying that he hadn't noticed my red cheeks. 

“Hey, you’re Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s friend right?” I heard him asking with a slight accent.

I turned to face him, still feeling my face hot from the blushing.

“Yeah, hi” I spoke facing him so he could read my lips better, I was used to doing that and knew how to speak with him because of Baek go course, and tried to sign the few words I knew “How are you? Do you have class soon?”

He gave me a small smile when he saw my lame attempts at signing.

“Mmm, yeah, I have English Literature II in about ten minutes” he said while checking a piece of paper he had in his hand, I assumed it was his schedule.

“Ah! I also have that class. Room 203?”

He just nodded as an answer.

He just stood there a bit awkwardly for a few seconds before sitting next to me. He started to type on his phone, I thought he might just be sending someone a message or something, so I resumed my reading when I heard him clearing his throat, to later tap on my shoulder. He showed me the screen of his phone.

“I’m sorry, but is it okay if I type instead of speaking? I’m not really confident speaking up, I’m sure my voice must sound really funny”

I nodded, took my phone out and started to type something when he placed his hand over my phone and moved his head from left to right a couple of times, saying no, and then tapping his lips with his index finger.

“What? You want me to speak?”

He nodded and typed fast on his phone.

“I’m the one who’s deaf, you don’t have to type, I will just try to read your lips. More convenient for you” he shrugged while I was reading what he had written.

And now it was me who was saying no with my head and typed as fast as I could so he wouldn’t keep my from doing it.

“What about we both type and speak? You’re voice sounds okay, there’s no need for you to feel self conscious about it… Also, you could teach me a few signs as we speak… if you want of course…”

I showed my phone to him. Saw his smile forming in his lips and his eyes filling with delight.

I think that’s when I knew I wanted to get to know him better. I wanted to see that smile more often. I wanted to be the cause of that smile more often to be more exact.

The class came and went. He spent it all looking between the teacher and his interpreter, he had told me while we were waiting for the class to start that he needed one and that he had a few that rotated through classes and days, but that I knew already since I had shared a few classes with Baekhyun before, and he as well needed an interpreter, so I was used to see them in classes translating everything for people who needed it, I didn’t tell him of course, I was fascinated just by seeing him speak, hearing his slightly off accent. But even when I already knew all of this, that didn’t stop me form spending the 90 minutes that the class lasted staring at him, I felt like a total creep. I was lucky enough not to have the teacher ask me what the class was about, because for one, I wasn’t paying attention and secondly, I had seemed to have forgotten all that I had read previously about it. 

As soon as the class finished, I heard my phone ring. It was Chanyeol.

“Jongin-ie, your appointment is today right?”

“Yup”

“Want me to go with you?” I heard the hesitation in his voice.

Chanyeol was my best friend, I met him during our second semester, since I had been working for a while at the restaurant and he was a frequent client, we started just with small talk and then it turned out we both had music in common, him in playing it, composing, interpreting it and me in dancing it, we bonded pretty quickly, and when I learned that he was Baekhyun’s boyfriend, the pretty deaf boy whom I had shared a few classes with, the topics we had in common grew, as well as our friendship. 

I also became great friends with Baek, he was so easy to get along with, even if he was deaf, he had a personality that didn’t need any sort of language to make himself understood, that’s something that amazed me about him, it was pretty impossible not to befriend him as well. 

We found each other going out for dinner and drinks more often that what we probably should. And of course, he (and a few days later Baekhyun) had been the first people outside my family to know about my diagnosis. I had to tell him, after he found me in one of the dancing studios crying my heart out. I think that him seeing me like that made us closer. After all, people say that in sickness and in jail is when you know who your real friends were. And with him and Baek by my side, I had the best ones, I couldn’t complain at all.

“Jongin-ie? Are you there?”

“Aaaah yeah hyung, I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

“I asked if you wanted me to go with you?”

“You know you don’t have to…”

“But I want to” he answered firmly, not giving me the chance to reply anything “Where are you? Let’s go have lunch and then get to the appointment. Don’t you know I’ve noticed how much weight you have lost lately?”

“Hyung, I haven’t…”

“YAAAA! DO YOU THINK I’M STUPID?” he yelled at me, not angry but concerned “I said we’ll have lunch and then go to your appointment. You have to take care of yourself… please” he added.

I told him where I was and sat at the same bench I was in before class. While I waited for him, I saw Kyungsoo leave the classroom with his interpreter. They were moving their hands at the speed of light. If I ever thought that Chanyeol and Baek spoke fast, this was at a whole new level. Usually with my friends, I was able to grasp a few words here and there, and of course it always helped that Chanyeol always spoke out loud while signing and he always voiced Baek’s signs, except when they were talking about their private boyfriend-boyfriend stuff to whatever. I guess he noticed me staring, so he waved goodbye to the guy and came to where I was, just as I heard Chanyeol yell my name.

“Ah, hi Kyungsoo” He greeted him while he spoke and signed, the same way he did when Baek was with us.

“I was just about to ask Jongin if he wanted to have lunch, but now that we’re here why don’t we all go? So why don’t you call Baekhyun as well” Kyungsoo signed and spoke at the same time as well. Hearing him say my name made my stomach make a strange turn, even when he pronounced it a bit weird. Shongin.

“Sure!” I said

Chanyeol stared at me, lifted on of his eyebrows teasingly. How annoying.

“Sure, I came actually to have lunch with Jongin” the motherf***r smirked.

Baekhyun joined us a few minutes later and we went to the university’s cafeteria, and as lately, I wasn’t really hungry at all, but Chanyeol brought a huge plate of jjangjangmyun, an apple and banana sliced in small pieces, a chocolate muffin, a bottle of water and a glass of orange juice.

“Hyung, I won’t be able to finish all that”

“Shush, you’ll eat as much as I want you to”

Baek just chuckled a bit and signed something to Kyungsoo, making him laugh.

“Baek” I tapped on the table “What did you say? I didn’t catch all that”

“He said I babied you too much, but what else do you expect me to do when you aren’t eating properly. You know you have to watch your health more than ever” Chanyeol voiced for Baek, again with a concerned tone and with a frown. 

I stared at him, hopping he could read my mind. I could see the questioning look on Kyungsoo’s face and eyes, and from all the people in the world, at this moment, he was the last person I wanted to notice that there was something going on. So I tried to divert the attention from that moment and started to talk about random stuff.

We talked and joked around for a little over an hour, when Chanyeol started to pick everything and placing the food trays over the trash bins. Changing his always playful face to a serious one again.

“We have to go if we don’t want to be late Jongin” His tone as serious as it could be.

“Hyung…”

“Don’t hyung me. Let’s go”

He went to Baek and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

“I’ll text you when we’re on our way back okay?” he said to Baek.

‘Good luck, I hope everything goes well Jongin’ was all Baek answered

“Where are you guys going” I heard Kyungsoo ask.

“We have an appointment” Chanyeol answered dryly.

Baek quickly tried to divert the attention from us and Kyungsoo didn’t have any other choice but to pay attention to him, but as we walked outside from the cafeteria and into the parking lot, I could see Kyungsoo looking at our direction, with a slight frown between his eyebrows and that seemed to be a million questions on his face.


	4. Kyungsoo III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had surgery today; and I’ve been reading fanfics since I got out haha so I thought it might be a good idea to post another chapter ... hehe

There was something odd about Chanyeol that day, and not only from the almost permanent serious look he had on his face pretty much since he woke up, but even now, while we were having lunch and the way he spoke to Jongin, the way he was treating him, it was so unlike him. I was so confused. He was being a mom basically. I don’t know how else to describe him.

‘What’s wrong with Chanyeol?’ I asked Baekhyun ‘Is something going on?’

‘Not at all’ Baekhyun said while giving me a smile that wasn’t reaching his eyes ‘why do you ask?’

‘It’s just that Chanyeol has been weird all morning, and Jongin looked tense, I don’t know’

Baekhyun only shrugged his shoulders as an answer, which also seemed weird. I might have only known them for a couple of days, but that was enough to know that something was off. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were the type of people that seemed to be always cheerful, always joking, laughing, but that didn’t seemed to be the case today. I decided to “investigate” a bit.

I waved my hand in front of Baekhyun’s face to get his attention.

‘Where are they going anyway?’ I asked trying to make it look like a mindlessly question.

‘They had some appointment, guys stuff I think’

‘Then why did you said  _ ‘Good luck, I hope everything goes well Jongin _ ’?’

‘Did I really?’ He signed quickly and without looking at me. ‘Let’s go to class, we’re gonna be late’

We had next class together, so instead of pushing the subject any further (not that I was getting anything as an answer) I just followed him.

Usually at the beginning of the class, at this point in university, teachers didn’t pass assistance anymore, but apparently this professor was a bit strict with attendance, so he did. The interpreter usually translated even that for us, so we knew when our names were approaching and didn’t miss our names being mentioned. I saw Baekhyun’s name being mentioned, a few names later, mine, and after that, I stopped paying attention, since my name had already been called, but when I saw my interpreter call a name twice, it peeked my attention. It was Jongin’s name. Kim Jongin.

Why had he missed a first day of class?

Baek waved his hand to get the teacher’s attention, and when he looked at him, he stood up and gave the teacher a piece of paper. He read it slowly while signing the paper quickly, frowned, nodded back to Baekhyun and gave him the paper back.

‘Tell Jongin there’s no problem with today’s assistance. I understand’ the interpreter translated. 

I was sure there was something going on, something anyone felt like telling me, but again, who was I to pry on other people’s lives? Also, we barely knew each other, they didn't owe an explanation to me or anything of that sort. I think it was best to forget about it. I was being more curious than I should.

That was the last class for the day, and in general it had been a good day. It exceeded my expectations to be honest.

I walked with Baekhyun to mine and Chanyeol’s room, talking only about the class and the homework and a class project we had to do.. My mind was still rummaging Jongin, but I had already desisted. I sat at my desk and turned the computed on, Donghae had told me he wanted to know how my first day had been, and I promised I would text him as soon as I got to the dorm. He had Monday’s free, so it was the perfect time to video call him. 

We had been talking for only about 10 minutes, when I saw someone approaching from behind, it was Baekhyun, who as he got closer, he waved effusively at the screen and to my brother, and when he noticed Donghae signing and questioning me who he was, Baek took control of my computer.

‘Hey you there, are you  _ this cutie’s _ boyfriend?’ He asked my brother while pointing at me with a mischievous look on his face.

Donghae only laughed while saying no with his head and hands.

‘I’m Kyungsoo’s Hyung. Do you want to be  _ this cutie _ ’s boyfriend?’ my brother asked laughing. 

Great, he had just found a new way to tease me, as if my name and other countless things that he did over my entire childhood hadn’t been enough.

Baekhyun just laughed for an answer, and seconds later, they immersed themselves into a lengthy conversation. It seemed that my brother was more interested in talking with Baek than with me. He kept asking him if there were any good looking people who I might have seemed to be interested in, and as soon as I saw Baek starting to sign ‘ _ well, there’s this guy…’  _ I looked away. I was afraid to see if he was only saying that to be funny or if after that he would say Jongin’s name. 

_ Had i been  _ **_THAT_ ** _ obvious? _

I pretended to be focused reading a book when the door opened.

It was Chanyeol, and Baek, without a thought stood up leaving my brother talking to himself and walked to his boyfriend. They talked about something, but they were signing so shyly and small that it was nearly impossible to see what they were saying, so I went back to the computer and talked to my brother to give them privacy.

‘So is it true? There’s no one you like yet?’

‘Hyung! I’ve been here 4 days only, I barely know 3 people, two of which are in a relationship…’

‘But there’s a third person who isn’t in one right? Is he cute?’ he interrupted me, teasing me.

‘I barely know his name…’ I said more to myself than to him.

‘And you would like to know more than just that’ He interrupted me, not really asking a question but stating a fact.

‘Am I that easy to read..?’

‘For me you are Kyungsoo-ya’ he laughed and I couldn’t help but blush.

‘It’s just that, I don’t know, we talked a little today, and he seems to be a cool guy. He’s my roommate’s best friend apparently, we are in some classes together, but something seems to be off, weird…’ Donghae waved his hand to get my attention

‘Kid, you’re talking to yourself again, and rambling a bit. Is everything okay?’ his concerned face made an appearance

‘Hey, don’t call me kid’ we just laughed and talked about other stuff instead. I didn’t want to think more about this afternoon’s thing, it was not my business.

Chanyeol also got his chance to talk with my brother, and Donghae was having the time of his life telling them all about my childhood and how much as a clumsy kid I was back there. We just ended that day’s conversation with a video call of almost 4 hours and Donghae glad that I had been able to find friends so easily, and also that they seemed to be nice people. That I agreed with him.

—.—.—.— —.—.—.— —.—.—.— —.—.—.— —.—.—.—

The following day at class, Jongin was absent again, both in the morning and afternoon classes. And the following day as well, and for the rest of the week. I knew better than to not ask to much to the guys, something important might have happened, but I was worrying more than I should. Maybe I actually did like him after all.

There was also the fact that Chanyeol woke up at 5 am every single morning for that week and came home almost at 11 p.m., looking exhausted. There where even 2 days when he didn’t came back at all. He just went into the shower and into his bed right after. There was only one night when he actually acknowledged my existence and asked how my day had been, without even looking at me while I simply answered that it had been okay, he just threw himself in bed and fell asleep without even showering or taking his clothes off, just to wake up the following morning again at 5 am to leave in a rush just after taking a 4 minute shower, without even having breakfast.

That first weekend I had promised my family, more my mom actually, that I would try my best to be able to go home and visit. But at the end, I hadn't been able too. I soon found out that this school was demanding, even if it was an arts focused university. People seriously under appreciated these schools, the school work, all th a sign,ents wer already drowning me.

So on Saturday and Sunday, I found myself at the library more time than I would like to admit, luckily enough I had Baekhyun, who took almost all the same classes I did and some of the ones I was currently in, he had already had one or two semesters before me, so I had him to help me, and he did happily. Changing schools meant taking a few extra classes to catch up with this school’s syllabus.

And after 4 hours spent at the library (doing homework that was due in 3 weeks time but I was too paranoid to leave them for another time, afraid I would somehow forget to do them) and just as I was about to leave, I got startled when someone tapped way too strong at the table. I jolted to the person tapping, it turned out to be Jongin.

He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, and maybe even thinner? And he might have noticed the way I was staring back at him, because he just chuckled, took his hands to his face 

“School is killing …, …much homework” he said hesitantly and pointed at the chair right in from of me “Can I sit here?”

I simply nodded and we sat there for around 20 minutes without saying anything, I was ready to leave, but I didn’t want to. So I just riddled with my stuff making it as if I was revising some stuff, I felt th awkwardness in the frickin air, or maybe it was only my imagination. I looked at him often form the corner of my eyes, and he just looked just like he did back at the restaurant that time I went with Baekhyun and Chanyeol, when he brought out food and drinks, and stood lingering at the side of the table as if he wanted to say something. It felt a bit weird, so I tried to ignore it, again, it might have all been only in my imagination.

He waved a hand in front of me to get my attention and made the sign for food.

“…hungry?” 

And even when I wasn’t entirely able to understand all he meant to say I started to pick my stuff from the table and smiled as an answer. 

“I’m starving!”

He laughed and covered his mouth instantly. We were at a library after all. What would I give to hear his laugh. The way he had laughed, it made his eyes shine, a sparkle reached his eyes and for a split second I could see how true happiness looked in him. That would later become both my blessing and my burden. 

It was weird for me missing my hearing, I almost never did. Not even when I tried to dance, since dancing for me wasn’t only about the music, it was the beat, the feel. But his laugh, that was something entirely different. I crave it. It felt like a need.

We went to a pizza place that was a few blocks away from campus, it was 4 pm, so it was too late to have lunch and too early to have dinner, we still went, turns out he hadn’t eaten since dinner the previous day(no wonder he looked so thin and tired) and I had just a light breakfast that morning of an apple and a cup of creamy coffee.

“Aren’t you betraying your restaurant by coming here?” I asked half teasing

“Hahahaha, no,no. I just work … weekends because I … have nothing better ...” I stared at him, only being able to understand half of what he was saying. He did a pretty good job talking clear and in front of me, I guess I had Baek to thank for that, but I guess he forgot I was deaf sometimes because he was speaking way to fast for me to be able to understand fully what he was saying.

He realized that and quickly took out his phone from the pocket of his jeans and typed it all while apologizing to me.

“ _ I just said that I work there on the weekends only”  _

“And if you work there on weekends why aren’t you there today?” we started to talk like that, between speaking and messages on his phone, it wasn’t fluid, it wasn’t that ideal, but it also wasn’t bad, if he didn’t mind it and gave himself the time for me to understand what he was saying, then it was definitely worth it.

_ “Ah, the owner gave me this first weekend off, because I missed school all last week and have to make up for the work, and, I don’t know if you already noticed, but the workload is no joke in this school” _

“And the teacher also said it was okay if you didn’t go to class these past days... why did you miss the whole first week of school by the way? Did something happened?”

“How do you know that?” He totally ignored both of my questions, so I decided to avoid the subject altogether, it wasn’t any of my business. 

“Well, the teacher always tells Baekhyun it’s okay…”

“So you’re in that class as well?” I couldn’t hear Jongin’s voice but I could see it in his eyes that there was something behind the way he was speaking, sadnessmaybe?

“Yup, I think we share some of our classes, are you also majoring in English?”

“Mmm, yeah, I am now” he said and then typed something on his phone “ _ I started with another major, but had to change it, so now I have to make up for the classes that I didn’t take, there aren’t many, but I’m still missing a few” _

“What do you mean you had to change it?” That had peaked my curiosity. Jongin was sure mysterious. If he did it on purpose I didn’t know, but I felt the need to ask so many questions about him all the time.

“I guess dancing wasn’t for me after all” He said shrugging his shoulders, making it look as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“You were majoring in dancing?” I asked maybe more loudly that I should, because I saw him jump a little when I spoke. “Oh, I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve always wanted to dance. I know I’m deaf but for some reason I seem to be obsessed with it”

_ “Hahaha, I totally get it, dancing has that addicting thing to it. I could introduce you to some of the dance clubs if this school, there are a few and they’re all really cool, at least the ones I know. I think I know most of them, depending on the genre you’re interested in learning of course”  _ Jongin typed on his phone. We had resorted to the phone when he was going to say something that required a longer of an explanation. 

“I would love that. I was actually looking for clubs to join or something before taking up a legit dance class. You know, start slowly to see if I'm even good at it… Hey, why don't you teach me?”

“No.” He just said firmly. I waited a few seconds for him to maybe elaborate more of an answer, but I didn't get any from him.

“Why not? If you were majoring in dancing then you must be good at it right?” There I was, unable to restrain myself with the questions. “Maybe you could help me or even teach me some stuff”

“Kyungsoo, I can't, really. I wasn't really that good. That's why I changed my major. One thing is wanting to do something with all your heart and might and a very different one is to be capable of doing it.” That seemed more of a real answer, and well, maybe he was right, maybe he hadn't been good enough for that to be his career. Maybe I had to give this dancing thing a second thought.

The whole conversation about dancing ended there, and we finished our lunch/early dinner talking about something different. We got to know each other a bit better. I've had time to get to know Chanyeol and Baekhyun, but not so much about Jongin. Whom I was more interested in.

I learned that he didn't live at campus, because his house was really close to the school, also that he had a big sister, a few years older than him, that she was living in Seoul and was about to get married to is guy he didn't like that much but that he didn't pay much attention to that as long as he made his noona happy (which I thought was super cute about him). 

I told him a bit about my family, my 3 older brothers and how I got along really good with them, specially with Donghae and that despite the 7 year age gap, he was, among Minho and Onew the brother whom I got along better. Also about my best friends back home, Jongdae and his boyfriend Minseok, Yixing and his boyfriend Junmyeon and Sehun, whom all were amazing and I was already starting to miss.

We were ready to leave, we were heading out of the pizza place, it was now or never. I grabbed Jongin’s arm, he turned back to face me, looking confused.

“Is everything okay? Did you forget anything?”

I looked back at him, took a small yellow post it folded in half out of my jeans pocket and handed it to him.

He looked a bit confused but grabbed it from my hand, out fingers slightly brushing against each other, opens it and read what was in it. My phone number scribbled messily. He looked back at me and I closed my hand into a fist, spreading open my thumb and pinky finger, and took my hand next to my ear and mouthed ‘my phone number’. His confused look turned into realization as he nodded his head. Them he just folded the post it back into a half and put it safely into his wallet.


	5. Kyungso IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter  
> I haven't been able to write much, but hopefully soon  
> Good thong I still have more chapters completed...

I hadn’t even planned anything at all, everything sort of flowed. The minute he sat next to me I had already decided I was going to ask him for dinner or something and then when he was the one who asked, I was elated. Dinner was... interesting. Not flawless, because we had a few awkward moments but all in all, it wasn’t bad. 

I had had that yellow post it in my wallet for a whole week now, it was crumpled and the edges were not straight anymore. I had been thinking of the best opportunity to give it to him without it looking to forced, ever since that first time when I found him at the front of out first class together, and during that first class where I could feel his stare at me.

I had meant to give him that post it right after that first class, but then Chanyeol came and that awkward lunch at the cafeteria and then he missed school for a whole week, which only made me more interested about him. But today and after talking for a while and getting to know him a little better, I got the feeling that maybe, just maybe he might be slightly interested in me, if not to form a relationship beyond friendship, at least, well, friendship. I could accept friendship for now. I would later work in maybe going into a next step if things looked promising. 

I took my chances and gave it to him. He accepted it easily, without asking why would he possible want my phone number. If he questioned me, I already had an answer to that: I would tell him simply that we shared some classes so it made sense to be close, to help each other and all that. That if he ever needed anything he could text me. But he didn’t say anything, he didn’t make any questions at all. 

I got to my dorm and left my phone charging, went to the bathroom to get into the shower and immediately got back to my phone to unplug it. I would let the 2% of battery left die while I showered. I didn’t want to become an obsessive psycho who checked his phone every 8 seconds to see if his crush, whom I had given my number to just 20 minutes before had sent me something. I should have asked him his number as well. F**k. I should’ve thought about this a little bet more.

—.—.—.—.— —.—.—.—.— —.—.—.—.—

A whole week had passed, and still I hadn’t got anything form Jongin. Not even a “hey lazy ass, why are you late to class”. Not that he had to send me anything, but still. 

So I took a chance. Again. And tried something that I knew could go wrong. For me, I mean, because Chanyeol would have endless opportunity to tease me.

Chanyeol-ah!!!” I chose to speak out loud while he took a shower, so he couldn’t see my blushing face when I asked “Do you have Jongin’s phone number”

In less than a second he came out of the shower. Completely naked.

“Ya, ya, yaaaaah! What are you doing?” I covered my eyes as fast as I could, peaking through my fingers to see only his top half.

‘Of course have his number, why wouldn’t I?’ And as if something suddenly clicked in his head, his eyes went bigger than they already were. His mouth opened widely, and he started to laugh ‘You like Jongin-ie right? Right? You definitely like him’ Dang it. I was born to be apparently.

“What? No!” Did that sound natural at all? “We have this assignment for Anglo-Saxon literature and I wanted to ask him something about that...” I told him while handling him a dry towel for him to cover himself.

‘Yeah, and I’m straight as Baek’s hair. Nice try. Baek is Jongin’s partner for that…’ Baek’s curled locks were one of his more outstanding traits.

F**k.

‘Well, yeah but...’ He didn’t let me finish and grabbed my hands with one of his.

‘Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo...’ He signed single handedly ‘if you like him you only need to say so’

‘I don’t like him.’ 

‘Then why are you making such a lame excuse to ask me for his phone number?’

I lifted my hands to answer him back, but there wasn’t much that I could say to defend myself.

“See? You’re definitely into him.” 

We got out of the bathroom. He quickly put some pants and a shirt on and grabbed my phone, facing it to me. 

‘Unlock it"

I did, and then he took a good five minutes to do god knows what. He handed it to me, went to his side of the room to finish dressing and getting ready. I left my phone on my desk, pretending I didn’t care about it that much, even though Chanyeol already knew about me liking his friend. Donghae was right. I was to easy to read, and not just to him, but apparently also to someone whom I had known for barely a few weeks.

Chanyeol finally left, and I rushed to the desk to grab my phone, but I just stood there, frozen. I couldn’t do anything but stare at the screen. I had to think of a way to send him a message without it looking too forced, a good excuse that didn’t make me look desperate. Gathering all the courage I could (and with one of the oldest and most pathetic excuses there could possibly be), I picked up my phone and texted him. My hands were shaking, and even when I knew what I was going to tell him, I rewrote the message at least ten times, I couldn’t stop making typos.

KS: Hey, do you remember what the assignment for tomorrow’s class was?

I regretted it as soon as the message was sent. After a minute or so, my nerves got the best of me, and I started to panic. I closed my eyes tightly and took a few deep breaths, but the anxiety wasn’t going anywhere. So I decided to text Jongdae. I knew he would tell me something like “Yaaa! Don’t worry about it! if you want something, you have to go for it”. That was how he was, his way of seeing life. He would always support me and have my back, no matter what I did. Why couldn’t I be Jongdae who had the courage to do pretty much anything at any time. I needed at least 1% of his sassy bitch vibes. 

KS: Chennieeeeee! You there?

We didn’t text that often. Our friendship was a bit weird if looked at by an outsider, but we were people of few words, between ourselves at least. Jongdae’s personality was a bit like Baek’s, but even more extroverted. While Baek was a supper funny guy and easy to get along with, he was more shy at the beginning, needing a bit of familiarity before opening up completely. Jongdae threw familiarity out the window.

He could ask you what color your underwear was if you were standing in front of him at the grocery shop, or he could ask a guy out just by a compliment and then asking them out for a drink. And people sometimes find it hard to love him. Because he could be obnoxious and a bit over the top at times, but when you were close to him, a real friend, he would go to the moon and back for you. I never went through that love-hate relationship phase people usually had with him, because I had known him since we were 3 years old, because our dads worked at the same company and his mom was my kindergarten teacher and my mom was his. So we were pretty much destined to become best friends.

I threw the phone onto my bed as soon as I sent Jongdae’s message. My hands were shaky and starting to sweat. I paced in my room for a couple of minutes, but the anxiousness wouldn't go away. I decided that instead of wallowing in nervousness, I would take a shower. Maybe that would help.

My plan was for Jongin to answer in the following 10-20 minutes, then have some small talk and casually asking if he had had lunch yet, it was almost noon and it might work well. Or maybe it wouldn’t. I blasted some music as loud as I could, I needed to feel in my chest some beats, or anything as long as it took away the knot that had formed from my throat all the way to my stomach.

Ignoring my phone for a bit longer than my brain could manage, I picked it up and read the screen that said: ONE UNREAD MESSAGE.

Was it Jongin? Was it Jongdae? At this point, I needed a message from my friend, to sweep away the nervousness. 

JD: YAAAAAH! Are you okay? What happened?

He worried whenever I sent a message like that. Smiling to myself and already feeling a lot more calm, I texted him what I had done and talked to him a bit about Jongin.

JD: are you free to FaceTime right now?

KS: sure 

‘Ok, so, let me get this straight’ Jongdae signed right away putting on business face. ‘You like him and gave him your phone number, but it’s been a week later and he hasn’t sent you anything at all. And then today you asked your roommate, who happens to be his best friend, for his phone number and sent him a message, and he hasn’t answered yet, am I right?

I just nodded and saw a grin form in his face.

“Yaaaaaaaaah, Kyungsoooooo-yaaaaa!” I couldn’t hear it, but it was obvious he was yelling with that obnoxious laugh of his that everyone hated. ‘Don’t stress about that. It was great that you did that! That shows your interest, and honestly man, if he’s smart, he’ll give you a chance. You’re amazing.’

‘Jongdae, thanks.’

‘You know you don’t have to worry right? Because you’re amazing… I’m not lying or saying that just because I’m your friend.’ Jongdae had seen me at my best and at my worst, and he had never left my side. Ever.

Just in that moment, my phone started to vibrate. The knot in my stomach became tighter, and Jongdae simply waved goodbye, smiling mischievously, I’m sure he knew what was going on.

It was the man of the hour. 

JI: WE HAD AN ASSIGNMENT FOR TOMORROW’S CLASS?!

I just laughed, because I knew we didn’t have anything for that class. I answered as innocently as I could.

KS: I’m sorry. I doubled check and I got confused, sorry for worrying you. (:

Was the smiley face too much?

JI: AAAAH! You got me really scared for a minute there :)

KS: I’ll make sure to double check the next time. I’m sorry.

JI: By the way... how did you get my phone number?

Oh well. Here we go.

KS: Aaah that. Well, I asked Chanyeol for it, because I wanted to ask you about the assignment, I’m sorry.

JI: Oh, okay, it’s fine.

KS: Umh. Actually also because last week I gave you my phone number, and maybe I was expecting a message from you or something. But I should have been more direct I guess... Why am I telling you this? Well, never mind then. Again, I’m sorry.

JI: You were expecting me to message you…?

KS: I said it’s fine, never mind. 

Yeah. I’m stupid. I’m stupid to think that he could be even slightly interested in me, not even as a friend. He was absolutely out of my league. He was tall and fit, his figured could be distinguished from miles away, his poise was unique, his skin was sun-kissed in the right places. His small and round nose, the silky dark grey ash hair that he always swept away from his eyes because it was too long, and that smile that lit the place whenever he had it on his face…

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I stopped banging my head into the wall when I felt my phone vibrating in my back pocket once. And then a second time. 

JI: Are you hungry? 

JI: Wanna have lunch?

I stared blankly at my phone screen. Unsure of how to respond.

JI: I’m sorry I had you waiting for a message. I didn’t know that’s what you meant when you gave me your phone number, and honestly, I’m too thick when it comes to that sort of thing…

JI: But I never imagined you would like me like that. I really thought about sending you one, but I didn’t know what to say…

I felt my heart give a jolt. Time passed, but I couldn’t answer anything. My brain told me to react, but my heart was taking up all of my body’s energy, and I couldn’t move an inch.

JI: Aaah, I guess I’m too late now. I’m sorry again Kyungsoo.

That was all it took for my body to wake up.

KS: No, no, no. I do want to go have lunch together.

I’m standing in front of my closet and nothing seems appropriate. This isn’t a date though I want it to be, it was only lunch. But the mere thought of being with him alone, spending time together, was enough for me. I had never been interested in someone before in the way I was about Jongin. In my one and only previous relationship, the feeling of not being wanted or not being enough always kept me at a certain distance, it made me not entirely trust in my partner, but Jongin made me feel different, even when we were nothing other than acquaintances.

I decided it was best not to think too much about what to wear, so I only grabbed a pair of jeans and a white V neck t-shirt, put some simple sneakers on and grabbed a light leather jacket. 

The spot we chose to meet each other was right outside campus, he said he wanted to show me this new random place Chanyeol recommended to him that was close to my dorm building. I was nervous about the place we were going t go, because knowing my roommate it could either be the crappiest place to ever exist or a romantic love nest for couples.

Ten minutes before the time arranged, I left the dorm. Walking was a torture, breathing was hard, my limbs were wobbly and with every step I took my whole body trembled, breathing deep didn’t help, the anxiousness was eating me up. As expected, I arrived before he did, so I just stood there waiting for him, breathing deeply to relax as much as I could before he arrived. I was nervous to see him, to talk to him, afraid I would do or say the wrong thing. Even if in my mind, this was a date, for him, I couldn’t possibly tell. Maybe he had just suggested lunch because he was bored and had nothing else to do. Maybe, like me, he had other intentions. 

I closed my eyes, the anxiety finally wearing off little by little, when a tap on my shoulder made me startle. I looked up at the taller’s face and what was left of my nervousness and uneasiness left my body, lifting as if it had suddenly wings. I could feel an involuntary smile form across my face and my cheeks slightly blush when our eyes met.

“Are you ready to go?” He smiled back at me.

“Let’s go” I said while nodding and added “Where are we going anyway? Do you even know what type of place it is?”

“Not really, but Chanyeol recommended it to me”

“And you really trust his suggestions?” I asked in a mocking way.

“Ah, you’re right” And he blurted to in what must have been a loud laugh.

The food was amazing. But the company was even better. From time to time, while we were eating, our feet would accidentally touch under the table, or our hands or arms would brush against each other while trying to reach for a napkin or something that was on the table. Each time this happened, we stared into each other eyes, locked our gazes for a few seconds to later look away smiling shyly. But those small moments weren’t awkward at all, like that other time when we went to have dinner. It was quite the opposite. It was as if we were talking to each other silently, reading our minds, having common agreements of what was going on. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking about random stuff, walking around town as he told me random and weird stuff about certain places, like a personal tour guide. It was already getting dark when we got to a park and sat on a bench. It reminded me a little of the first day of classes, when I saw him standing outside of the classroom and I felt my legs become jelly just at the sight of him. 

“Kyungsoo,” He said at me. I focused on his lips, it was getting darker by the minute and I wanted to know understand whatever he said to me. I waited for him to say something else. But he didn’t.

He grabbed one of my hands with both of his, not looking at me but at our hands intertwined. He caressed each and everyone of my fingers, tracing the veins at the back of my hands and up my wrists. He sighed deeply, and I saw one of his fingers tremble for a moment. Thinking he was nervous I took my free hand and placed it in top of our hands. He then looked up at me, looked into my eyes as if there was something he wanted to tell me, but he didn’t. It looked like he was holding himself back. He kept opening and closing his lips, unable to say anything. I tightened my grip to give him a little bit of confidence.

“Is this okay?” He asked, worry in his face.

I wanted to say yes, to scream out of happiness everyone to hear. Yes, yes, yes. But instead, I got closer and closer to him, until our noses touched each other and the inevitable happened. I pressed my lips against his. And as soon as I did, I felt his bottom lip tremble, as if he were crying. Maybe it meant insecurity. I wasn’t sure. 

I placed my hands on his face, securing him there and pressed harder into the kiss. If he was nervous, uncertain, insecure, worried, or anything else, I wanted this kiss to show him that he didn’t have reason to feel any of those things. I wanted to tell him that this was okay, that this was more than okay. That I was happy and that I wanted him. That even when we had only met each other for a couple of weeks, we could work things out if we gave ourselves the time. Time passed slowly while we kissed, but I needed the kiss to be endless, to stay like this forever. He tasted so sweet, so soft; it was hard to let go. But just a few moments later I felt a hand in my chest, and he broke the kiss, his bottom lip trembling once again.

“It’s okay, Jongin” I urged before he could say or do anything.

I grabbed his hand again and held it there for a few minutes in silence. Silence suited him. Just as it suited me. But inside it felt as if drums were playing against my ribcage. My heart was pounding like it never had done before, like it wanted to jump out of me. I took his hands to my lips and kissed the back go his hand. I saw him smile and all the worries washing away from his face.

“It’s okay” Jongin said now, not as a question anymore but as a fact.

He walked me back to the dorms. We walked slower than before, wanting to spend more time with each other, but it was getting late and the day ahead would be a busy one. I had my first dance class and I needed to go well rested. 

We stood at the entrance of the room, afraid that Chanyeol was inside. Not because we feared his disapproval (I mean, he was also gay, friends with me and Jongin, and even encouraging me to tell Jongin how I felt about him). It was more that we wanted to start slow and private. We barely knew each other but the connection we felt since the beginning was strong and mutual. And above all, it felt natural and easy. As if it was meant to be.

‘Go inside,’ Jongin’s sloppy signs made me laugh “Was it wrong? I’m sorry. I promise I’ll practice.” He said and his cheeks immediately blushed. I took his hands into mine and gave them a small kiss again.

“That was cute” he looked down, embarrassed. I grabbed his chin and lifted his face. “Jongin, they don’t have to be perfect. As long as you are trying, that’s enough. That’s more than what most people do” his beautiful smile filled up his face “You’ll learn with time. You don’t have to worry about it”.

‘See you yesterday?’ He signed shyly this time.

‘Tomorrow.’ I signed while speaking. I took his hands with mine and formed the correct sign.

‘Tomorrow.’ he repeated, this time looking a little bit more confident. He gave me a peck on the corner of my lips and I did the same before slipping into my room.


	6. Jongin II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There is a scene at the end that doesn't fully qualify as MATURE, for the chapter to be rated as such, but just so you're aware hehe ;)

Our first day together wasn’t a dream, as I had imagined. But a slap on the face of how a real relationship is. 

The very first thing I did when I woke up was send him a text message.

JI: Morning <3

KS: :*

It was simple yet cute and meaningful. Our messages showed we didn’t have the need to say or do much for the other one to feel loved and taken care of. 

I took a shower as fast as proper hygiene allowed it, dressed with the first thing I saw in my closet, and had instant oatmeal for breakfast. A part of me didn’t really believe that me and Kyungsoo were together. I had only imagined but never believed that this would actually happen.

Revisiting my first time seeing him, I was well aware I felt immediately attracted to him, but I wasn’t sure how to make a move. And at the beginning I didn’t know why I felt so uncertain. I wasn't the shy type when I wanted to approach someone. But now, while walking to school I gave it a proper thought and realized what my reasoning had been.

He seemed to be a quiet and serious person, and not only because he was deaf. Although him being deaf stopped me a little bit from making a first move. And don’t get me wrong, it didn’t stop me because he was deaf, but because I knew sometimes people like him and Baekhyun, or with other types of disabilities were hesitant with new people and at times had a little bit of trouble trusting others. I had seen that with Baek, whom, although he was very outgoing and confident, he did stop himself when meeting me, waited to be sure I wouldn’t mock him or not take him seriously for his deafness. Which of course I would never do. I had never been the type of person to judge someone for things that were out of their control. And I get it, I understand why they would be cautious. Baek had once told me, through Chanyeol, of some of his previous experiences with people who were just both ignorant and unwilling to understand someone with a disability. 

So when I first thought about approaching Kyungsoo, I knew I had to be careful. I had to know him first. His personality, his view on things, how sensitive he was. And if he would be willing to try something with someone who wasn’t part of his world.

On a few occasions when I saw him interact with Chanyeol and Baek, I realized how at ease he felt. Signing, talking, and laughing feely, without overthinking it, but when he was around other people he held back, slightly unsure of himself, even when his personality boasted confidence. He wouldn’t speak out loud, but rely on Chanyeol to convey his words orally, just like he always did with Baek, who didn't speak like Kyungsoo did. He would also still make an effort to lip read but waited for Chanyeol to translate for him, maybe because he was afraid of not understanding properly and answer back with the wrong thing.

That made me think of ways to get closer to him. Initially I thought about asking Chanyeol for help, but desisted right away. I wanted to do this by myself. My first attempt had been that day when I saw him at the library, but it all went weird. I could see how uncomfortable he felt and that made me feel self conscious and awkward myself. So when at the end of that lunch we had, he gave me that post it with his phone number on it, I didn’t know what to do.

I had the post it laying around in my room. The morning after getting the post-it, I would randomly pick it up and dial his number, only to delete it when I realized my nervousness made me forget that Kyungsoo was deaf. We wouldn’t be able to talk even if he picked up.

The second day, I saved his number on my phone and disposed the little yellow paper in the trash, only to take it out seconds later to save it between the pages of my favorite book.

The third day I wrote a message and deleted it in less than 30 seconds.

On the fourth day, I had already given up. I had no idea what to do. He had given me his number, so that must have meant that he wanted me to have it. For what? I could only guess. There were a few possibilities. Maybe he only wants to be able to contact me in case something for school came up, or maybe because he wanted us to be friends, or maybe because I was Chanyeol’s best friend and if he was ever annoying he could text me to tell me to get him out of his face because he was being annoying, or maybe because he liked me like I liked him. But that was a stretch.

So that day, when I got his first text message, I went mad for a little while. But rereading it, I realized he was also overthinking things the way I did. But I still had to make sure. And when he finally confessed to me that he had asked Chanyeol for my number and that he had given me his waiting for me to text him, I was in shock. I had wanted him to like me like I liked him, and I not-so-secretly expected for something to happen, but then I sent the wrong thing. He took it as if I thought he was being annoying or something, but when I asked him if he was really expecting me to message him, it was more out of incredulity from my part. Of all the options I had had in my head as to why he had given me his phone number, the real reason was the one I least expected it to be, but also the one I wanted to be the most.

Before I knew it, my inner rant had made me oblivious to the fact that I was already only a few steps away from the classroom, and also not to notice my boyfriend waiting for me at the door. My boyfriend. I giggled at the thought if it. We were finally together. 

“Hey there,” I said, waving my hand. He answered in the same fashion and gave me a peck in the corner of my lips. “Do it properly” I said. I grabbed his chin and faced his lips towards mine again, giving him a full-on kiss and feeling his deep laugh erupt from between our lips. We parted, and he stuck his tongue out childishly. 

“Let’s go. The class is about to start” He signed and talked at the same time. We walked next to each other and then went to our respective seats. 

What was the class about? Don’t ask me. I was to distracted admiring my beautiful boyfriend from afar. He always sat at the front, where he could clearly see his interpreter without problems. And just the sight of him was almost too much for me. He payed attention, his eyes glued to the man standing almost in front of him waving his hands at lightning speed. 

I wondered if I would ever be able to communicate like that with him. We did just fine. He could read lips, and I always tried my best to enunciate properly so he could understand me without problems. He was also confident enough around me to talk, which wasn’t something he did just around anyone. I was slowly but surely learning a few signs. First on my own, back when I first realized I liked him, I had learnt some from the internet, adding a few to the vocabulary Chanyeol and Baek had slowly but surely expanded over our years of friendship, but I had never had a real motivation to keep expanding it. And now that we were together, I was going to have him teach me. I wanted our relationship to flow, and I wanted to be someone he could be himself with easily and without restraints or barriers. 

I copied under my desk a few of the signs the interpreter made so I wouldn’t distract anyone. There was a hook looking sign, then one that was a circular motion with a few fingers curled up (that one I had to ask Kyungsoo what meant), then one I knew was similar to Chanyeol’s sign name. But then my index and thumb trembled, and I messed up the sign I just made. My short-lived excitement vanished. I closed my hands, making a tight fist with them. I felt a lump in my throat, but cleared it away before the feeling reached my eyes. I hated it. It always ruined the happy moments I had.

I tried not to think much about it, and I focused again on the flashing hands of the interpreter while listening to the teacher at the same time, trying to pair the two together and make some sense of it. Clearly I couldn’t, but it was the intention that counted, right? After all, I couldn’t expect to become fluent in one day. Chanyeol had told me that it took him two years to communicate with Baek exclusively with signs, and even then, it wasn’t fluent at all. 

The class ended, and by the time I had put away all of my stuff, I could no longer see Kyungsoo anywhere near his seat, which made me worry a little. I stood there looking around to see if I could find him, but there were no signs of him anywhere. I took my phone out to text him, when I felt two short and muscular arms surround me from behind. I jolted slightly but didn’t pushed away. He hugged me tighter, and I felt his head rest between my shoulders. We could only stay like that for a few seconds though, because I was starting to feel the teacher’s stare, who was still inside the classroom.

I unlocked his hands that were over my stomach and turned to face him. I saw his heart-shaped smile look back at me, and I couldn’t resist it. I didn't kiss him. Instead I hugged him back, hiding my face in his neck, waiting for my blush to go away. And again, his deep laugh filled my ears.

“Are you embarrassed, Shongin?” The cute little way he always said my name didn’t help. I moved my head from side to side to let him know that I wasn’t. “What about we skip the next class and go have some breakfast instead?”

“I already had breakfast,” I answered back automatically, regretting it immediately, because from all the things we had shared so far--and there actually weren’t that many--food was the one at the top of the list. And good things always came for us after having a meal together. “But you know what? That’s a terrific idea.”

“Terrorific?”

“No,” I chuckled. “T-E-R-R-I-F-I-C” I spelled slowly afraid I would mess up. 

He placed both of his hands in front of his face and above his head, then bounced them upwards two times. “Terrific,” he said while doing it. I repeated the motion the way he did and received again his heart shaped smile along with a sparkle in his eyes that could only mean happiness, and involuntarily, I smiled proudly to myself.

We went to a café to buy something to eat, a piece of cake, a bagel, and two cups of coffee, and took them back at his dorm room.

“Are you sure Chanyeol’s not there?” I asked him.

“He said he had class all morning, and then he would go shopping with Baek.” He assured me, but I was still afraid. I didn't want them to know right away. I wanted us to be completely comfortable with one another before telling them. We also wanted our privacy, because we both knew that one Chanyeol and Baek knew, the teasing would never end.

We sat on his bed to eat. I never pictured him as a sweets lover, but with every bite of his piece of chocolate cake, a small and adorable moan escaped his lips. I don’t think he noticed. Maybe it was involuntary, which only made it more adorable. I stopped eating to stare at him. I wanted that image forever in my head, one of the very first moments we shared together. 

“Stop staring at me,” He said in a serious note “Don’t think that because I’m deaf I don’t notice you staring at me. It’s rude.” I wasn’t sure what to make of what he was telling me. 

“Kyungsoo.” I put my hand on his shoulder for him to face me. “Kyungsoo, I’m only staring, because I like you.” He stopped eating, looked at my lips and then right into my eyes. He resumed his eating after a few seconds. It was clear that even when we were already together, we still had some barriers to cross. It was clear that us liking each other didn’t exactly meant we knew each other. I had to gain his confidence. We finished our food in an awkward silence, but I was determined to let him know how much I liked him. After all, I didn’t know what his previous experiences had been.

“Shongin, listen.” I didn’t expect him to talk first “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m used to people staring for the wrong reasons, and I know you weren’t staring for anything like that, but it sometimes takes a little while to get used to.” He finished with a smile, which made the sudden weight that had installed in my chest to lighten a little. I was afraid that I had offended him somehow. I grabbed his hand when he finished talking, stroking the back of it lightly.

“I don’t want you to feel like that. I promise I’ll try to make you always feel comfortable around me.” He wasn't looking at my lips but at my eyes, but it didn’t matter. I knew he was aware of what I had said, or at least the meaning behind it.

—.—.—.— —.—.—.— —.—.—.—

A whole month had passed. And everything seemed to be perfect between Kyungsoo and me. Spring break was around the corner, but I still wasn’t sure what Kyungsoo was going to do. If he was going to go home to visit his family and spend the week there. It was possible, since his family lived close. But I wanted to spend time with him as well. 

“Babe,” I heard him call me. I sat up, since I was lying on his belly. I looked at him, and he smiled. “What are you doing for spring break?”

“I really don’t know” I shrugged my shoulders as I said it. “My parents, especially my mom, want to go to visit my sister, to help her with some stuff for her wedding”

“Aaaah, mine are actually going for a vacation as well, and all my brothers are busy. And Donghae’s taking my niece to Disneyland, I think.”

“Mmm.” Was all I muttered for an answer.

“We could spend it together, you know. I’ll be here alone. My parents offered for me to go, but I really don’t feel like it,” I said, hoping he would get the meaning behind it.

“I was thinking the same thing.” He smiled back at me with his heart shaped lips.

“You could stay at my place if you want to…” I tried to sound innocent, but I don’t think that’s how it came out as.

“I’m so glad I have such a smart boyfriend,” he laughed. I leaned in to give him a kiss, which he happily took in and intensified it. 

I was waiting for him to arrive. I insisted on picking him up from campus, but he said he could find my house with just the address, so I gave it to him hoping he would. 

I had been at his dorm countless times, first as Chanyeol’s friend and then as Kyungsoo’s boyfriend. But he had never come to my house. I think it was because my parents were always there. And it wasn’t like I was afraid of telling them I had a boyfriend--I had come out as gay almost four years ago when I was 16. They weren’t surprised or angry at all. They were very open about it, and even when my dad had a bit of a hard time with it, it didn’t take him long to fully accept it. 

The reason for me not introducing Kyungsoo to them yet, was because I wanted to build a strong bond with him first. I wanted to enjoy our time before we told everyone, and also because there was something I had to talk to Kyungsoo about. I didn't yet know how he felt about meeting my family, just as I didn't know yet what his family’s take on our relationship would be. But now that some time had passed, and we were out and about all the time, I thought it was the appropriate time to talk about the subject. Maybe this time that we had alone would be a good time.

I felt my phone vibrate.

KS: Babe, I’m here.

And just after I read it i heard the doorbell ring. 

I rushed to the door to open it, only to find the most adorable thing. It was of course him. He was holding a duffle bag as big as his torso. 

“Yaah! Would you care to help me!” Kyungsoo yelled at me, obviously struggling with the huge bag. I hurried and took it away from his shoulder.

“How did you carry this on your own all the way here?” I asked him, struggling to make the words out of my mouth with how heavy the bag was.

“I came in my car, you dummy,” He said with a laugh. “I went a bit crazy and packed way too much.”

“You definitely did. You do know we’re a five minute walk away from campus right?” I asked.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that,” He answered. He always used his deafness to his advantage on situations like this, when he knew he was wrong and didn’t want to accept it. It was adorable. I smiled to myself.

“You punk.” His smile flashed on his face and went back to his car to close the trunk.

Once inside, I carried his bag to my bedroom, struggling not only because of the weight of it, but also because my body wasn’t as strong as it had once been. But I took the challenge without thinking about it twice, and actually felt quite proud when I finally threw the bag onto my bed.

“KYUNGSOO!” I yelled from the top of the stairs, only to give myself a palm to the face for how stupid that action had been. So I ran downstairs to find him still at the door, now closed, looking all around him. “Hey.” I waved my hand in front of him, and he turned to me. “Wanna see the rest of the house?” He only nodded.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards me until our bodies collapsed into one another, I kissed him quickly and squeezed his hand. I only gave him a quick tour through the living room and the dinner area. The backyard and the pool was still covered since it hadn’t been used for a while. My house was big. My parents did great, and you could tell we lived freely, enjoying the advantages of having money, but he didn’t flinch at the sight of my house like Chanyeol, Baek, and my other friends had when they saw it. Instead, the place where he almost lost his shit was the kitchen. Right as we entered, he let go of my hand and started to walk around it. He looked like a little kid wonderfully lost at a toy store. Looking everywhere and flipping his head from one side to another, unsure of where to look first. I followed him from behind, mesmerized at how deep he was into just admiring a kitchen.

“This kitchen is perfect,” he said when he finally turned back at me “Would you let me cook you something?” He asked right after. I never imagined he was the cooking type.

“Do you like to cook?” I asked. He answered with a cocky smile.

He leaned in, and, tiptoeing to reach my face, kissed me deeply. I could feel my heart starting to thump against my chest. We had never gone past passionate kisses and making out sessions. And I couldn’t help but wonder if we were finally going to put the cherry on top of our relationship. But I had a strong sense that the time was coming.

I deepened the kiss, feeling his heavy breaths against my mouth, his hands up in my hair, caressing it and pulling it slightly, which only helped to turn me on. I grabbed him by the waist and pushed him backwards, to the small island in the middle of the kitchen, lifted him and sat him there while continuing to kiss. He surrounded my waist with his legs, getting closer to me, when I felt something poke me in the stomach. I flinched at the feel but stayed put, getting closer to his now erect member. He pushed harder against me once again, and I could feel my own member grow, getting more aroused, knowing where we were heading. I was getting ready to start taking both mine and his clothes off, only to suddenly feel him break the kiss, his hand to my chest pushing me away and his heavy breaths avoiding him from speaking.

“Not yet,” he said when he recovered his breath. I looked at him confused. I thought he wanted this. His body gave it away. Why was he stopping? I began to worry, and he definitely noticed, because he grabbed my face, gave me a quick kiss on the lips, and said “Not in your parents’ kitchen.” He laughed and gave me a quick kiss again and climbed down from the kitchen island.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any suggestions, recommendations, complaints, about/for the story, please let me know (:


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